British India - Misplaced Pages

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File:IGI british indian empire1909reduced.jpg

The British Indian Empire in 1909

British India is a term which was defined in the British Parliament's Interpretation Act 1889, which says:

The expression British India shall mean all territories and places within Her Majesty's dominions which are for the time being governed by Her Majesty through the Governor-General of India, or through any Governor or other officer subordinate to the Governor-General of India. The expression India shall mean British India together with any territories of an Native Prince or Chief under the suzerainty of Her Majesty, exercised through the Governor-General of India, or through any Governor or other officer subordinate to the Governor-General of India. (52 & 53 Vict. cap. 63, sec. 18)

Suzerainty over several hundred Princely States, including Bahawalpur, Hyderabad, Mysore, Travancore, Jaipur and Kashmir and Jammu, was exercised in the name of the British Crown by the government of British India under the Viceroy of India, with many small Princely States being dependent on the provincial governments of British India.

A distinction between "dominion" and "suzerainty" was supplied by the jurisdiction of the courts: the law of British India rested on the laws enacted by the British Parliament and on the legislative powers those laws vested in the local and central governments of British India, while the courts of the Princely States existed under the authority of the rulers.

See also